New Westminster mayoral candidates face off at forum

A park, a pool and a school are among the promises bring made by the 2014 mayoral candidates.

The four candidates vying to be New Westminster’s next mayor – Jonathan Cote, James Crosty, Vladimir Krasnogor and incumbent Wayne Wright – squared off at a mayoral forum on Tuesday night. Each of the candidates offered up a different response when asked about one specific promise they’d make if successful on election day.

“If I am successful in this election, one thing I want to do is start the redevelopment of Canada Games Pool. The Canada Games pool, in my opinion, is one of the most important facilities that we have in our community,” said Cote, a three-term councillor. “I think it is time to start doing a reinvestment there. The facility is starting to age and I don’t want us spending good money after bad, just simply putting Band-Aid solutions. If I am successful in this election within the four years I’d like to see the start of the redevelopment of our Canada Games Pool.”

While it won’t be easy, Wright pledged to work with the school board and the provincial government to get a replacement for the aging New Westminster Secondary School built.

Krasnogor promised to get to work on the high school project and to introduce legislation that would protect Queen’s Park from proposals like that from the Vancouver Whitecaps, which would have seen the stadium upgraded for a pro soccer franchise.

While three of the candidates focused on facilities, Crosty wants to take action to help bring some fresh businesses to the city.

“Something I want to do in the first six months – it’s never been done – I want to set up a women’s commission in New Westminster,” he said. “The women’s commission is for business ladies, women that are in business who have children, who have challenges at home and don’t understand how to take a business and make it successful.”

During the two-hour mayoral forum hosted by the New Westminster Chamber of Commerce, the four candidates fielded questions on a variety of topics including housing, waterfront development, integration of immigrants into the business community and business taxes. One of the questions posed by the chamber of commerce was about the influence of the New Westminster and District Labour Council and whether it’s an issue.

Crosty, who has long been critical of the labour council’s influence on city council, voiced concerns that a labour-backed council could have implications on the city’s budget. He said the CUPE contract comes up for negotiations in 2015 and some council members take part in bargaining.
“Do you want the fox in the hen house?” he asked. “As mayor, I would ensure there is impartiality, that negotiating could be done by people that are working on behalf of the city and not the unions.”

Krasnogor expressed concern that council could be comprised of a mayor and six councillors endorsed by the labour council. He said it’s bad for democracy when one group has full control, so he’s encouraging people to vote for candidates who haven’t been endorsed by the organization.

“I think it’s what we call the elephant in the room,” said Wright, who was supported by many labour-endorsed candidates in the past but was never officially endorsed by the labour council. “I have said this from the beginning. What you need in the city is leadership, number one, but you need a balanced council so you can debate all these things. I can’t tell you that anyone on that council today has ever done anything I don’t agree with. There’s very few times we haven’t agreed. But to have seven, in my opinion, is wrong. Again, if it’s me or it’s one of these gentlemen and you are there by yourself, you’ve got a problem.”

Cote, who is the first mayoral candidate in New Westminster in decades to be endorsed by the labour council, said he is proud to get the labour council’s support. He said the team he’s running with has diverse backgrounds, including people who have experience in small business and social services.

“I don’t feel that New Westminster politics is polarized as it is made out to be,” he said. “If you go to any council meeting, you’ll see a group of people from diverse backgrounds talking about the issues we have in our city.”